After all, they never had the opportunity to stand in New Xia’s Royal Court to closely observe Fu Ling Chuan and Queen Chang Le. All their understanding of these two people, apart from the brief days and months during the diplomatic mission to Wussel City, came from just a few brief sentences in intelligence reports—neither vivid nor detailed.

Xiao Yan of course understood, “Are you saying that the New Xia Queen deserves credit for this as well?”

“I know An An. She would never be content to be Fu Ling Chuan’s puppet,” Yun Ya said thoughtfully, “I just don’t know how much influence she has exerted in all this. At least to outsiders like us, her brilliance has been overshadowed by Fu Ling Chuan.”

“If she truly is that intelligent and talented, Fu Ling Chuan would certainly prefer to marry her, wouldn’t he? That way his power could be consolidated,” Xiao Yan stroked his chin, his face full of mischievous intent. “With him so close at hand, who knows when he might succeed?”

The meaning of “close at hand” implied that the State Preceptor Yun Ya here was too far from her, unable to properly show his abilities even if he wanted to.

“Quite right,” Yun Ya stretched lazily. “I should quickly go keep a close eye on her, lest she be taken away by Fu Ling Chuan.”

Xiao Yan was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, “State Preceptor, you can’t run off and leave all these matters behind again!”

“Currently, the Kingdom is peaceful and prosperous, with no external threats, and we’ve even repelled the Yan army with Xi Kingdom’s help,” Yun Ya said listlessly, lacking enthusiasm. “There’s not even a natural disaster. It’s too peaceful and boring—what’s the point of me staying here?”

Is this fellow even speaking human language? Xiao Yan smiled bitterly. As Wei Kingdom’s State Preceptor, he was complaining that his country was too peaceful. If these words reached the Royal Court, the censors would probably line up to impeach him.

After nearly two years of governance, he finally understood his father’s helplessness when facing the State Preceptor back then. “Fine, go if you want, but don’t forget the important matters!”

Yun Ya responded indolently, “I know.”

“It’s said that even heroes find it hard to resist beautiful women. I see you…” The New Xia Queen was a devastating beauty—could she end up luring away his State Preceptor?

But when he turned to look, Yun Ya was resting his chin on his hand, waves of smiles rippling from his peach-blossom eyes, enough to intoxicate anyone.

“…” Well, he’s also a beauty. Between him and An An, it’s hard to say who would ensnare whom.

Xiao Yan quickly switched topics, “The Yan Kingdom suffered such a major defeat, losing face completely. The King of Yan definitely won’t let it go easily. It’s laughable how the little King of Xi is still complacent, not knowing to strengthen his defenses urgently.” Just thinking about it angered him. “That fellow is an untrustworthy villain. When borrowing troops from Great Wei, he promised thousands of benefits, but so far has delivered less than a small fraction.”

When faced with the powerful threat of the Yan army, the King of Xi was so frightened that his soul nearly scattered, and he simultaneously sought aid from the Wei Kingdom and Pu Kingdom.

Pu Kingdom had recently been at war with Yan Kingdom and was left with depleted resources and impoverished people, even losing their secondary capital to the enemy. At this time, they sought an opportunity to recover and catch their breath, truly unwilling to offend the powerful Yan Kingdom again.

So no matter how much the King of Xi begged, apart from a few vassal states sending troops to join the Xi army, only King Xiao Yan of Wei was willing to lend him several tens of thousands of troops. After dispersing the Yan army’s attack, the Xi Kingdom should have paid the Wei Kingdom a large sum of money according to the prior loan agreement. That amount was more than three times the compensation Wei paid to New Xia.

Although the King of Wei had asked for an exorbitant price, taking advantage of the situation, the Wei army had indeed fought bravely and helped Xi Kingdom repel the Yan invasion. This agreement was valid and should have been honored.

However, at this point, the King of Xi began to feel the pain, and moreover, Xi Kingdom had suffered tremendous damage from the Yan army’s iron hooves, making this a crucial time for spending money. Therefore, the King of Xi found various excuses to prevaricate and evade, having paid less than twenty million taels of silver so far.

“Little one?” Yun Ya had a very faint smile in his eyes. “You’re not much older than him.”

“When the old King of Xi was alive, he knew this son had ambition but no ability, and suppressed him in many ways. In the end, he killed his father and brother to ascend the throne, with a cruel and suspicious nature. Under his rule, how could the people of Xi Kingdom have good days?”

“It’s not just the people of Xi Kingdom who are suffering, is it?” Yun Ya’s words seemed to carry a deeper meaning. “There seems to be one more person.”

“Who?”

“The State Preceptor of Xi Kingdom, Yu Hai Zhen.” He spoke at leisure, “I received an additional piece of secret intelligence: after repelling the Yan army, the Royal Court held a victory celebration, and the King of Xi took advantage of the wine to make advances on Yu Hai Zhen.”

With a “crack,” the porcelain cup in Xiao Yan’s hand was crushed into pieces.

“What!” he exclaimed in shock, “Did… did he succeed?”

“That I don’t know,” Yun Ya shrugged, “The last scene my people witnessed was Yu Hai Zhen with a flushed face, unable to stand, being carried away by him. I don’t know what trick the King of Xi used to even bring down the State Preceptor.”

Xiao Yan’s eyes reddened at the corners, and he struck the tea table with his palm. “Beast! He truly deserves to be torn into ten thousand pieces!”

His voice was filled with rage, like a volcano about to erupt.

“Yu Hai Zhen is also a royal relative. The King of Xi’s actions are indeed contrary to proper conduct,” Yun Ya poured himself a cup of clear tea and gently blew away the steam. “My King is truly quick to uphold justice, feeling indignant on behalf of someone else’s State Preceptor.”

Xiao Yan immediately came to his senses, realizing he had revealed his true feelings, and couldn’t help but wave his hand, “Stop teasing! Had I known this would happen, it would have been better to stand by and let the Yan army breach the Xi capital! Then, then…” His chest heaved, and he could say no more.

He knew that his emotional state had confirmed Yun Ya’s speculation. Allowing this man before him to grasp another of his weaknesses was certainly not wise. But he couldn’t help it—he was too angry!

The fact that he hadn’t immediately ordered troops to attack Xi Kingdom was already the height of rationality. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier!” He couldn’t help but stand up and pace, a fire in his heart becoming increasingly unbearable, wanting only to kill to vent his hatred.

Yun Ya called someone in to clean up the broken pieces on the ground and served the King of Wei fresh tea. “At that time, our troops had not yet withdrawn from Xi Kingdom. I feared you would attack in anger and order an assault on the Xi capital, which would have wasted all our previous efforts.” It was rare for him to offer words of comfort. “Since what has happened has happened, your remorse is useless. Better to think about what to do next.”

“Next…” Xiao Yan gritted his teeth with an audible sound. “I don’t need the Yan people to do it; I will kill him with my own hands!”

“What about Yu Hai Zhen?”

Xiao Yan fell silent, with a gleam flashing in his eyes.

Yun Ya rested his chin on his hand. “Xi Kingdom cannot hold off the Yan army for much longer. You should quickly prepare for confrontation with Yan Kingdom.”

“What do you mean by ‘you’?” Xiao Yan was dissatisfied. “It’s ‘we’!”

Yun Ya smiled. “For public and private reasons, you should meet with Yu Hai Zhen as soon as possible.”

Xiao Yan nodded, though his mouth still tasted bitter.

Yun Ya aptly changed the subject: “Is Your Majesty too idle lately, coming here to chat about personal matters?” Why was this sovereign not staying in his palace but instead coming to the State Preceptor’s residence to drink tea? Wasn’t he afraid of the various foreign spies roaming the capital, any one of whom might successfully assassinate him?

Xiao Yan also shifted his mood and lightly coughed, “Isn’t it because someone asked me to visit you?”